Stay indoors. Stay mindful.
*Updated 05/08/20
Every week, we’re sharing ways to stay mindful while you stay indoors. Sign up for our newsletter to get our weekly list.
Zine Making with Austin Kleon
Learn how to make a pocket-sized zine using a single piece of paper with author / artist Austin Kleon.
Drawing Lessons with Wendy Mac
Wendy is a NYT best-selling illustrator who hosts a drawing workshop M-F at 10am PST on her Instagram. Each workshop stays in her stories for 24 hours if you miss it!
Read the Classics with Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a digital library of public domain books. That means you can read anything published before 1924 for free.
Free Guided Meditations with Tricycle
Over the next two weeks, Tricycle will be hosting free live guided meditations with their network of teachers. Check the schedule on their webpage for dates and times.
How to Make a Flip Book
Learn how to make a simple flip book with stop-motion animator Andy Bailey.
Get Musical with a Free Synth App from Moog
Moog has made their popular Model D synth app free to help people pass the time indoors.
Watch and Support Your Favorite Musicians
Musicians around the world are looking for ways to continue to share their music and make a living. Check out this list of upcoming streams, and stay tuned for something we’re working on to help.
Try Drawing to Music with TeachRock
TeachRock recently launched their Distance Learning initiative. Their Drawing to Music lesson dives into synesthesia and the effects of music on drawing.
Take a Virtual Museum Tour
Google’s Arts & Culture page lets you take a virtual tour of museums around the world.
Stay at Home, Stay Fit
Arnold Schwarzenegger recently took to Reddit to share his at-home freehand training routine for staying fit while staying indoors.
Watch a Maker at Work
Assembly Creators Market started an Instagram live series looking at makers and how they work. Our friend Butch Boswell of Boswell Guitars was a recent participant, and more exciting makers are sure to follow.
Follow Barbara Luel’s Quarantine Sketchbook Series
Artist and architect Barbara Luel has started a sketchbook series during her days indoors. Her posts are filled with both beautiful art and inspiring wisdom.
Go on a Virtual Field Trip to a California State Park
The California State Park’s Online Resources for Teachers and Students program provides free virtual field trips and at-home learning programs daily.
Download Coloring Pages at #ColorOurCollections
Browse free coloring pages featuring images from the collections of libraries, museums, and archives around the world.
Explore Mars with NASA’s Curiosity Rover
Take an interactive, 360 degree tour of the surface of the Red Planet.
Learn how to make a video game
Unity is making their learning system, Unity Learn Premium, free for 90 days. Don’t just play video games, learn how to make them.
Sing your heart out with Quarantine Karaoke
This Facebook group encourages you to post videos and live streams of you singing your favorite songs.
Learn about the Science of Wellbeing
The most popular course in Yale’s 318 year history is now available for free. Learn how to increase your happiness and build more productive habits.
Recreate your favorite work of art
The Getty Museum has challenged the world to recreate works of art with objects (and people) in your home. 1) Choose your favorite artwork. 2) Find three things lying around your house. 3) Recreate the artwork with those items.
Learn how to play an instrument with Little Kids Rock
Little Kids Rock has been posting lessons twice daily on their YouTube channel. And, despite the name, their lessons aren’t just for kids.
Take an art course from MoMA
The Museum of Modern Art is offering free online courses on fashion, photography, contemporary art, and more.
Learn how to bind a book
Follow along with our friends at Peg & Awl as they show you how to stitch your own coverless journal.
Discover the basics of pencil calligraphy
Now is the perfect time to start writing letters to friends and loved ones. Learn how to make them pop with this beginner’s guide to pencil calligraphy.
Watch the fish at the iconic Monterey Bay Aquarium
The live cams at the Monterey Bay Aquarium let you check in on the coral reef exhibit, kelp forest exhibit, jellyfish, and more.
Complete the Washington Post’s daily crossword
Each day, the Washington Post updates the crossword puzzle page on their website. For some extra fun, print out your crossword and complete it with your favorite pencil 😉
Make a theme park dessert at home
It will be a while before you can visit your favorite theme park, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get your snack fix. Try your hand at making a batch of Disneyland’s famous churros.
Create a DIY toy for your canine quarantine companion
Update: your dog is probably just as bored as you are. Make them a tug-of-war toy that brings you both joy.
Learn to draw Baloo from The Jungle Book
Disney legend Eric Goldberg shows a simple way to draw a beloved character, and he does it with his trusty Blackwing.
Try the “Pencil Through a Bag” science experiment
Learn about molecular chains and chemical bonds using just a pencil, plastic bag, and water.
Up your coffee game
We’re all our own personal baristas right now. Try these tips to take your coffee brewing to the next level.
Support a local bookstore with Bookshop
Bookshop is “an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores.” Pick your local shop, and they’ll receive the full profit off your order.
Start an indoor garden
No matter how limited your space is, there’s room for some green. These tips will help you start an indoor garden that can be a hobby long after this is over.
Tie-dye some stuff
Everyone seems to be tie-dying these days, and with good reason. It’s a great way to have some fun and breathe new life into old clothes.
Make your own sourdough starter
The pet rock for the modern era. This tiny sourdough starter recipe lets you make a starter using minimal resources. Bonus points if you give it a name.
Join a quarantine book club
These digital book clubs will let you chat with other readers and authors about your favorite hobby.
Practice writing letters
The art of letter writing has taken a hit since the advent of email and instant messaging. These tips will get you back in the swing of things.
Start a digital Dungeons & Dragons campaign
Roll20 lets you play Dungeons & Dragons and other table top RPGs while practicing social distancing measures.
Learn how to score a baseball game
It will be a while before you can go to a baseball game in person, but there may be games played in empty stadiums this summer. Learn how to score a baseball game so you can be ready when you catch a game on TV.
Take in some new music
Our friend Johnny Irion just released an english cover of the all-time-great German pop song “Marmor, Stein und Eisen bricht,“ and Willy Tea Taylor just dropped a video for his song “The Nurse” for International Nurses Day.
Live out your Hogwarts fantasy
We’ve reached peak quarantine when we’re enrolling in fantasy courses on Potion Making and Defense Against the Dark Arts. But that’s exactly what you can do here.
Chill out and do nothing
Everyone feels like they need to be productive right now, but there may be a reason some of your projects aren’t getting done. And that’s ok.
Host a virtual trivia night
I joined a virtual trivia night group last week, and it was a BLAST. Learn how you can start your own, or find a group that’s already going.
Paint your shoes
People have been customizing their shoes by painting them for decades. Come out of quarantine with some fresh painted kicks.
Help map the ocean’s coral reefs
NASA has crowd-sourced their research with a game called NeMO-Net, which tasks players with helping to classify the coral reefs on the ocean floor.
Enroll in a flower arrangement course
FlowerSchool New York is hosting virtual flower arrangement classes where you can learn how to create beautiful flower arrangements.
Get outdoors (if your state allows it)
California recently outlined the outdoor activities that are safe to do while isolating. Find out what your local guidelines are and get some fresh air!
Make a beach bag
Beaches are in our future. Make a beach bag for your inevitable trips to the ocean using just two pieces of fabric and a little something for the handle.
Watch a Broadway show
It’ll be a while before we’re ready to cram into a theater to watch a live performance. In the meantime, you can stream Broadway shows directly to your screen.